Intravascular guidewires are commonly used to navigate through a patient's vascular system for the diagnosis and treatment of a wide variety of vascular disorders. Guidewires conventionally utilize a stainless steel or nitinol (super elastic) core wire. Stainless steel core wires are advantageous because they are shapeable, but are disadvantageous because they may become deformed in tortuous vascular anatomy. Nitinol core wires are advantageous because they do not become deformed in tortuous vasculature, but are disadvantageous because they are not shapeable. Thus, there is a need for a guidewire that offers both advantages, namely a guidewire that is shapeable and that is not readily deformed in tortuous vasculature.